Card tray



May 19, 1959 A. R. RUDDELL ETAL CARD TRAY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Aug. 8. 1957 V INVENTOR A. R .RUDDELL R. H. WILMER BY fi %%o1m5 May 19, 1959 'A. R. RUDDELL ETAL 2,887,352

CARD TRAY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Aug. 8, 1957 INVENTOR A .R RU DDE LL United States Pater CARD TRAY Allison R. Ruddell and Rudolph H. Wilmer, Youngstown, Ohio, assignors to The General Fireproofing Company, Youngstown, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Original application August 8, 1957, Serial No. 677,119. Divided and this application February 20, 1958, Serial No. 716,507

1 Claim. (Cl. 312301) This invention relates to card trays and is a division of our application Serial No. 677,119, filed August 8, 1957.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide means for supporting the tray either on the drawer sides, or, on the bottom of the drawer itself; the arrangement being such in both cases lifting handles at theends of the trays are so positioned that they will not interfere with the movement of the drawer into and out of the casing or cabinet. In other words, when the handles are fixed or movable they do not extend above the height of the drawer.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple and practical means for stacking the trays when they are lifted out of the drawer to prevent relative sliding, the interlocking means for the stacked trays being so disposed in relation to the lifting handles that the latter are located below the top edge of the tray to avoid interference with stacking. With the above and other objects in view which will more readily appear as the nature of the 'invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed.

A preferred and practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a tray provided at each end with movable handles having vertical movement when lifted and similar movement when released to drop below the plane of the top of the tray, as when the latter is to be stored; and, also illustrating blisters at the ends of the tray to space it away from the drawer side so that the handle will not engage the latter and be held accidently elevated, as will be apparent from Fig. 2.

Figure 2 is a detail side elevation of a tray resting on a phantom drawer bottom with the blisters providing the handle clearances referred to above.

Figure 3 is a detail top plan view of the movable handle, for example the one at the end of the drawer having the front plate.

Similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawing.

Referring to the drawings it will be observed that the card tray is designated A and includes the opposite end walls 1-1, side walls 2 and bottom wall 3. The opposite end walls 1 are provided with the upstanding lugs 4 to fit into a mating opening 5 in the bottom of a superimposed drawer for stacking purposes. The front end wall 1 has a compressor lever L pivotally supported as at 19 so that its offset portion 19 will control the compres- 301' C as set forth in our parent case.

Patented May 19, 1959 As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the drawer lifting means includes handles 20 vertically shiftable in each drawer end, and which in the lower position, are freely accessable through a recessed portion 2t) of the drawer end. Each handle 20 has an outwardly offset medial finger gripping portion 21 provided with an arched medial portion flanked by laterally extending extruded arms 21 including the terminal inwardly offset ends 22. These inwardly offset ends are slidably confined between the upper portion 1 of the tray front and the angular guides 1 (Figs. 2 and 3) so that the said end portions 22 may freely slide up and down. The vertical limit of movement of the ends 23 is defined by the horizontal portion 4 of the lugs 4 and the drawer front ledges 4 The purpose of this arrangement is to permit the tray to be placed in a relatively shallow drawer b with the bottom of the tray resting on the bottom of the drawer and the handles 20 dropped to the full line position shown in Figure 2 and also indicated in full and dotted lines in Figure 1.

In order to avoid binding of the handles 20 against the sides of the drawer in the construction of Figs. 2-3, or in other words, in order to keep the opposite ends of the tray spaced from the inner faces of the drawer side walls, the opposite end walls 1 are provided with the so-called blisters 23 or spacing abutments which will project far enough beyond the end of the drawer to provide ample space in which the sliding handles may move or drop by gravity to a lowered position which will prevent collision with the cabinet when the drawer bearing the trays is closed.

We claim:

In a card tray adapted to be positioned within a storage drawer of a file cabinet; said tray having bottom, opposite, side, and opposite end walls, a tray lifting handle disposed adjacent each end wall of the tray and extending transversely of the tray, each handle comprising a horizontally disposed finger gripping portion curved outwardly and downwardly relative to the corresponding end wall, an arm projecting laterally outwardly from each end of said gripping portion and vertically beneath same, each of said arms having an inwardly offset free end, angular guide members disposed in spaced relation to each tray end wall and between which and said end wall the said inwardly offset ends are vertically guided, each end wall of said tray being provided with a lug disposed vertically above each of said angular guide members, each of said lugs including a horizontal portion, each of said end walls being further provided with a horizontal ledge disposed below and parallel with said lug portions, said horizontal portions and said ledges being in the vertical path of movement of said inwardly ofiset ends of said arms for limiting free vertical movement of the handles, and said end walls having upwardly opening recesses for affording access to said handles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 476,150 Knight May 31, 1932 2,109,689 Clark Mar. 1, 1938 2,386,343 Regenhardt Oct. 9, 1945 2,482,174 Hake Sept. 20, 1949 2,499,126 Bassichis Feb. 28, 1950 2,574,523 Bockius et al. Nov. 13, 1951 

